Sunday, September 4, 2016

How are yous all doing! This week has been an exciting week! There has been a virus/cold going around Melbourne and it just so happened to catch me! It was an exciting week full of blowing my nose, coughing, and being inside trying to get better :) Haha!!

In the time that we were able to go out and work we were able to pick up a new investigator!! That was so awesome! :) Her name is Kadesha and she is so prepared to hear the message of the Restored Gospel! Hopefully we are able to see her again this week! She told us that she is pretty busy this week and next week but maybe just popping by we will be able to catch her :)

We had a cultural night on Saturday for Father's Day and it was so cool!! I have never seen island dancing before but it was so awesome to see! Sorry again for the short letter but here are some pictures for the week :)

Saturday, September 3, 2016

I hope yous all have had a great week! To start off, I want yous all to know that I found out some hard news about one of my really good friends! I know though that although he is gone from this life, he is still here with us and is doing missionary work on the other side! :) God be with you till we meet again Blake! <3

"From Sister Rose's mom: I just felt that today, she might like to share
a picture of some of her college friends which
included a picture of her friend, Blake.
He was always a part of her life that semester of college.
His family and friends are in our family's thoughts and prayers."

This week has been quite an interesting week...to start off. We were at the Doctor most of the week! Haha it is getting really annoying being in there constantly but hopefully soon they are able to help find a solution to both my problem and Sister Bennetts!

This week was a 'Less-Active' week :) We were able to only see Less active members and share with them, but I believe that they were in real need of a visit! They are all working on trying to get back to church and are all having their own personal struggles at the moment but with the help of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ we can all be strengthened :)

Fono got confirmed yesterday! :D It was such a special experience!! We are so happy for her and she truly has become happier :)

Sorry for the short email but I know that Heavenly Father truly does have a plan for each and every one of us and he is constantly watching over us!

Love yous all!

Sister Rose

This is Sister Murray and Sister Matthews :) They are the best and are always coming out with us!

Sunday, August 21, 2016

I can't believe that another week has gone by!! This week has been quite the experience as well! I wish I could just explain day by day the things that happen...but unfortunately. I can't :)

FONO GOT BAPTIZED ON TUESDAY!! :D It was probably the greatest experience I have had so far! Being able to see her from the time we got into Narre Warren to now has been completely two different people! She is so much happier now and tells us that she is better able to understand the Book of Mormon which is really good :)

This is Fono and her uncle who baptized her and her aunty as well :)

This week I have really grown to rely on the Atonement of the Savior and to put my trust fully in him. In my personal studies this morning, I studied Alma 5. I recommend that yous all read it!! Alma is teaching the people and he is so powerful! What a wonderful example to me personally as a missionary :) He asks so many questions to the people that really struck me! Have ye been spiritually born of God? Have ye received His image in our countenance? Have ye experienced this mighty change in your heart? Do ye exercise faith in the redemption of Him who created us? Do ye look forward with an eye of faith and view this mortal body raised in immortality to stand before God to be judged according to the deeds done here? Have ye walked keeping yourself blameless before God? Are ye stripped of Pride??

All of theses questions really hit me. Have I done all of these things? In Alma 5:37 he talks about if we haven't done any of these things that "A shepherd hath called after you and is still calling after you, but ye will not hearken unto his voice!"

He is continually calling after us no matter what sins we have committed. Through His Atonement and Eternal Sacrifice that he has provided for us we CAN return to Him. I am so grateful for this Gospel and the promise that we can be together as an eternal family. It is such a blessing to each and everyone of us :)

Monday, August 15, 2016

This week has been such a great week! But first I have to tell yous all something that I forgot last week...I sang my first solo last Sunday...I got asked on Saturday if I would sing in a fireside and man it was so scary!! I think it went good though! I have never sang a solo before but it was fun :)

This week we had Zone Conference and it was so great!! I absolutely love President Vidmar and Sister Vidmar! They are so good!! They always keep things upbeat and fun here in the AMM :) CHUR is the new thing here in the AMM. It stands for Christ Helps Us Rise. I absolutely love it and it is such a good reminder that even when we fall short, Christ is always there to help us rise back up! We watched a talk given by Elder Holland and one thing that he said really stood out to me, "Heavenly Promises are always kept." It is such a powerful thing to remember. Anything that is promised to us from our Heavenly Father is always kept no matter what. We don't have to worry about him forgetting about it or forgetting about us because he always remembers us.

I love that so much! The missionaries in the AMM are so awesome! I got to see the NZ haka! The elders did it for all of us and it was so cool!! I will try and attach it but man it was so funny as well! :) Elder Wiser and President Vidmar have this constant battle of handstand competitions.....and on Friday..Elder Wiser won!! It was so funny!!

This is the after picture...It was probably the best thing that I have seen! They went for 2 minutes!! It was crazy az!!

Fono is getting baptized tomorrow evening!! :) She is so prepared and is so excited to be baptized as well!! I love her to death! We have started reading the book of Mormon with her to help her understand more about what is going on and she is understanding more which is good :)

We had mini missionaries this weekend as well! They were 16 years old and were so cute and little! But their testimonies were so powerful! I couldn't believe that the testimonies they bore lead us to finding so many potential investigators! It was amazing! :) They were Sister Menzi and Sister Moore! They were so awesome! :) I love them to death!

So as I have begun to drive in Australia we have a song that we listen to every day that reminds us how important it is that we open our mouth to those who don't know the truth that we carry with us! The lyrics are "Today is the day I will open my mouth, I will shout from the rooftops, the truth will come out. And I share in my soul with the words that I speak with the words that I speak, with the Love that has made me this way. Yes today is the day I proclaim what I believe."

It has helped me so much this past week in Opening my Mouth and proclaiming the truth!! I am so grateful to be serving the Lord in the Australia Melbourne Mission :)

I love yous all heaps!! Have a great week :)

Sister Rose

We go everywhere to find people to teach!

Searching through darkness finding the truth!! aka..The Book of Mormon

Sunday, August 7, 2016

Gday Everyone! Sorry no fun heading this time...I am not that creative :/

This week has been such an exciting week!! I don't even know where to start! We were able to walk most of our lower area on Tuesday! Which is over 5 km....I slept so great that night!! We were able to visit only 3 people...walking around makes it very hard to see people in a day, BUT we have been given a car so it makes seeing people so much nicer!!

Fono is progressing so well!! She is so ready for baptisma and she knows that the church is true!! I love her so much!! :)

This week I have been able to learn so much from my personal study and I have learned how to make the atonement more effective in my life and so I can become a more powerful teacher! I love learning how the savior taught and applying it to my life! It has greatly influenced the way that I go about talking to people! I am grateful that we have such an example to look too! He was the perfect teacher and the best big brother for all of us :)

I hope yous all know that I love yous all heaps!! Keep having a great summer :)

Sister Rose

We hiked to the top of a mountain to have zone meeting this week :) It was the best experience ever!! The spirit was so strong!~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~These two pictures below are what Sister Rose sent to her brother! Yikes!!!

This is the bad boy on our letter box this week....he was massive az!!! I think it was a huntsman spider!!

Sunday, July 31, 2016

What a great week to share with yous all!! I can't believe that it is once again Monday! The weeks go by so very fast!

This week we have been able to do a lot of contacting of former investigators! We met a woman whose name is Mirella Toau. She is Bonza az!! She has been prepared to receive the message :) We shared with her the restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and she understood everything and said that it was great! :) We are going to see her again this week and share with her the Plan of Salvation!

Fono is doing so great! She is so very excited to be baptized and is just so ready! She shared with us that the reason she wanted to start learning more was because when her son was born, he died shortly after birth :( So Sad!! But she said that now that she knows more, she can't deny that it is true! Wow..she is such an inspiration to me!

Sami is doing so great! She wants to be baptized so bad....she just can't give up smoking and knows that she eventually will be baptized...it is just whenever she can give up smoking! We are continually praying for her and just keep encouraging her to pray and read from her scriptures. She will make that decision one day I know it :)

This week has truly been one of the greatest weeks since I have started my mission!! I have learned so much this week through my studies and I know that as I continually study the Christlike attributes I can become more like the Savior when I talk to people and with my companion! I have also learned a lot about myself this week as I have been struggling again with a nasty cough....that I can take a lot more than I ever thought I could! I have learned to just keep pushing and keep going that extra little bit in everything that I do and I have been able to do much more in myself and with the missionary work! I know that nothing is possible without the help of the Savior! He continually pushes me and keeps me going. He is my rock as I walk the streets of Melbourne and although people don't want to hear or accept the message we have to share with them, at least we gave them the opportunity to do so! I have learned how to be more patient and humble in my everyday activities and I love the Savior with all my heart! He is my rock and I know I can just lean on him when I need too :)

I hope yous all have had a great week and are enjoying summer :) 1 more month of winter and then I can FINALLY have a summer :) It is so close!!

Sister Rose

Typical Australia :) "Easy Az"

Sister Rose and Sister Bennett

Side note from Sister Rose's mom....

This quote was very appropriate to attach to Sister Rose's blog this week. The words that Sister Rose has shared this week echo what Elder Martino counseled during a general conference talk.

Sister Rose's faith in Jesus Christ led to her decision to serve a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

Her faith and testimony in Jesus Christ lead her to share this message with all she comes in contact with in Australia, as well as strengthening her family and friends here at home. Our Savior is the source of her positive attitude. He helps her have courage in the face of rejection, and He blesses her with physical strength.

We are so grateful for Sister Rose's example and for her positive influence, wherever she is in the world.

Jesus Christ lives. He loves each of us.He is the source of love and peace.He will come again.

Monday, July 25, 2016

To start off, I just want to let you all know that I am so grateful for all your love and support! I love reading all of yous emails and I really do read them I just run out of time to respond! So I am sorry if you have written me and I don't respond...I will try and do better :)

This week has been an interesting week! It rained most of the week...we were heading to our interviews with the mission president and as we were almost there, there was just a wall of rain heading straight towards us...We got SOAKED!! We ran to the chapel and walked in and the AP's faces were priceless...hahaha!! The said sisters..don't you have a car??? NO!! We told them! They said that they were going to start working on it right then! Haha it was great :) Hopefully we will be getting a car soon!

Fono has decided to be baptized!! :) She will be baptized on the 16th of August! I am so happy for her and you can just see the light glowing from her! She is so prepared and so happy :)

We picked up a new investigator this week!! His name is Darren and he was actually a former investigator! He is now searching for faith and is looking to believe in God! Man he is just so ready and prepared! Hopefully in the next few weeks he will come to understand more and make that decision to be baptized! He told us that he would as long as he understood more :)

We got to meet our mission president this week and have an interview with him! He is BONZA AZ!! Man I can't even begin to explain to yous all how great he is! He just is so energetic about the work :)

I love yous all and am so excited to start this new week :) I pray for yous all every night and hope you are having a great summer while I am really enjoying winter ;) Sorry for the short letter but next week I will have more to report on ;) haha yous all are the best!

Sister Rose

The Australian sunset is so beautiful!!

This is my new friend I made this week....I am getting pro at this catching spiders thing!

Tuesday, July 19, 2016

I can't even begin to tell you what a week it has been! There have been so many miracles and so many hardships about this week that I don't even know where this week went! It was an absolutely amazing week! :)

To start off, we got dropped by an investigator on Sunday....and then again on Friday! It was crazy as! I couldn't believe it and we both were really sad that they had chosen that but we can't force people's agency. BUT we were able to pick up a new investigator!! His name is Peter and he is Bonza as! We met him at the bus stop trying to figure out how were going to get to our dinner appointment...it was quite the story. But he cam over and we were trying so hard to talk to him and then when we finally did he told us that his wife had passed away a year and a half ago. He had just came back from picking out the headstone. We shared with him the Plan of Salvation and asked if we could come visit him! He gave us his address and had a return appointment with him for the next day! We saw him 3 times this week!! He also came to church!! :D best moment ever! He keeps telling us that he isn't looking for spiritual change but the spirit is already working through him I know it :) He is just awesome!

We have had such crazy weather! We had this huge wind storm and rain storm on Tuesday!! We were talking to someone at the door on Tuesday and while we were talking...Sister Bennett and I got blown into the side of the house!! It was hilarious! :D We were all laughing and couldn't keep our conversation. It was the greatest thing ever!

I have learned heaps this week and I wish I could share with yous all that I have learned! But the biggest thing is that the BOOK OF MORMON IS TRUE! We had someone bash with us about the Book of Mormon and Bible and I just kept thinking...why? Satan finds ways to tear apart the Book of Mormon because it is true. No one ever tears at any other book. I have gained such a strong testimony about it :)

I hope yous all have a great week and are always striving to keep the spirit with you :)

Love yous!

Sister Rose

This is what happens when you aren't home and the Elders really need to use the toilet....they broke into our flat haha

Sunday, July 10, 2016

I hope yous all have had a great week! This week has seriously flown by and has been full of heaps and heaps of miracles!! I DIDN'T HAVE TO KILL ONE SPIDER :) haha jokes that isn't the greatest thing that happened this week!

This week we have been struggling finding a way that we can work better with the ward and meeting with members. I love my ward so much but finding investigators through them is really difficult! With the new transfer brings lots of changes....mostly the changes mean...buying more food because I am staying in Narre Warren :)

We have been working with 3 investigators that the Elders before us were teaching and 2 of them are doing great!! I am so excited for them :) Fono is a 30 year old woman who has been investigating the church for over a year and we finally committed her to be baptized!! :D She needs 2 weeks to fix some personal matters but she promised to let us know when she wants to be baptized!! I love her so much!

Another is Phoenix. He is BONZA!!! He is 14 and has a baptismal date set for december 3rd....ages away but he wants his grandma to be here for it which is understandable but he is so ready!! I am so proud of him! He is hilarious and just loves the gospel! He is just great!

This week I have felt so much love and comfort from the ward! They really do look after us here and are so loving to us :) It is nice to have them because they are our family and are always looking after us :)

I have done heaps and heaps of studying Christlike attributes this week and I am striving to become more christlike in everything that I do :) We are so blessed to be able to have the gospel in our every day lives and to always be aware that our Heavenly Father loves us and has a plan for each and every one of us! Isn't it amazing?! We are so blessed! I want to challenge each and everyone of you to go to the temple! We are so blessed to have a temple so close and to be able to recieve those blessings as often as we'd like! Go once this week :) It truly is a blessing!

I hope yous all have a great week and always remember to share the gospel with everyone although you may think that you all know. Someone is in need to hear it from you, so talk to everyone :) Have a great week!!

Te Alofa Ia Te Oi

Sister Rose

Not the best picture but this is my Zone doing bubble soccer :) narre warren is the best zone!!

Isn't Australia beautiful!

We actually got some sun on a day this week and we just had to take a picture! It was so warm :)

How have you all been? :) This week has been a really cold week! I can't believe how much rain Melbourne can get...its incredible haha!

This week I have done heaps of studying. I feel that I have definitely grown closer to my savior as I have done that! It is amazing what the Atonement can do for each and every one of us :) I feel truly blessed to be serving a mission!

We got the opportunity to meet President Vidmar this week! He is BONZA!! Man I love him! He is so energetic and is so much fun! I can't wait to start serving more with him and to see what miracles he brings to the Australia Melbourne Mission! He is incredible!

I have tried very hard this week to be a more urgent missionary and we have done HEAPS of walking! We would come home at the end of the day and just collapse...haha we were dead as! We actually had a expereince that was crazy as!! We were walking towards an appointment and on our way there these people went sprinting into a house screaming WHAT HAPPENED!! We stopped and listened for a bit and decided to go see if we could help in any way. As we walked over there the people continued to scream what happened and we walked over to the neighbor who was outside as well and she said that she didn't know what was going on but had heard the people say that someone had stopped breathing. Then a woman came running out yelling ambulance!! My Husband is Dead! She was yelling this and we were trying to ask her if there was anything we could do. She was so inconsolable that she wouldn't respond to us! The ambulance came and everyone that was there was just sobbing...We had no idea what to do. A daughter came out and said that is was for sure, he was gone. Everyone there just started sobbing even harder. I felt so bad. I had no idea what to do so we left them with our number and got out of there before we saw the dead body.

CRAZY AS!! I didn't sleep good that night haha!

It is truly amazing the knowledge that we have with the gospel and the plan of salvation! We are so blessed :)

I hope yous all have had a great week!!

Sister Rose

I am getting braver! :) I actually killed a spider!!

Australia is so beautiful!!

This is what the weather does in Melbourne! If you don't like the weather, wait 15 minutes. Literally!!

"They're Here!" - Sister Maxwell facebook, 6/29/16

Dear family, I am attaching pictures of your missionary taken in front of the mission home. Enjoy. We love your missionary.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gday Mates! :D

How is everything going for yous all? I hope great!

I don't even know where to start for this week because it has gone by so fast! I guess to start off...I CAUGHT MY FIRST COCKROACH!! That was scary!! It was MASSIVE!! It took a lot of courage because boy those things are fast!

Anyway on a more missionary note :) President and Sister Maxwell leave this week :( It was so hard to say goodbye to them last night at their last fireside and many tears were shed but President Vidmar arrives on the 30th and I get to meet him on the 1st :) I am so excited but yet sad! It will be a lot of transition this week and a lot of adjusting but it will all be great :)

This week has been so INCREDIBLY COLD!!! I never believed people when they told me that Melbourne was cold but man...this cold just gets under every layer of clothing you have and just stays there! It is interesting! But it makes me wear heaps more layers! Definitely a learning experience! Everyone always asks me isn't Idaho cold?? Yeah...but it is a different cold!

Sister Bennett caught a cold this week and so we have done heaps of staying warm inside and out of the cold! We also have had a gang going through our area and we have had to be very careful where we go because we travel by bus and don't have a safe car to just get into but the members are awesome and will take us anywhere we need to go :)

I finished the Book of Mormon also this week! I started reading it in NY and am so grateful for the Book of Mormon. It truly is the word of god and testifies purely of Jesus Christ. My testimony has definitely strengthened because of the book and I am so grateful to be able to share it with everyone I meet :)

I hope yous all have a great week and are enjoying your warm weather ;)

Love yous all!!

Sister Rose

This is my lovely cockroach that I caught in my handy cup...

Man Elders can definitely make a mess! All of this rubbish came from the elders before us in the flat...(no offense elders ;)

Since Sister Bennett was sick she was not very happy that I made her stay warm inside all day long

The Idaho Represents of the Australia Melbourne Mission :)

The best mission mom ever!! :) We love her so very much and will miss her!!